Chapter 1

BACKGROUND INFORMATION & GENERAL OVERVIEW

Using Information and Communication Technology in general

Mobile telephones, fax machines, world-wide communications networks, bar-codes in supermarkets, cash machines and encyclopaedias on CD-ROMs exemplify the level to which ICT has soared in the last decade.1 ICT is here to stay and forms an ever-increasing part of our children’s life.

Information and Communication Technology in the Curriculum

In this technological age, pupils surrounded by information technology in everyday life, can reasonably expect it to play a significant part in their education.  Pupils should be given opportunities to become familiar with a range of information technologies and to develop the skills to use them.  They should also be given the advantage of the opportunities ICT provides to support learning in all areas of the curriculum including Modern Foreign Languages.

ICT or IT

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) or Information Technology (IT) – what is the difference? 2

·        Information and Communications Technology refers to the computing and communications that support teaching and learning, where the focus is on the curriculum subject being taught not on the technology skills.  In other words, ICT is not just about computers; it is a tool to assist learning.

·        Information Technology refers to the pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the technology and their ability to apply it.  Here the focus is on technology skills.

 BACKGROUND  CONTEXT

Scotland (3)
In Scotland, pupils stay on at primary school for one year longer than they do elsewhere in the U.K.  They go to primary school at age five, where they enter P1 (Primary School Year 1).  They then progress through P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6 to P7.  After P7, in most cases at the age of twelve, they go to secondary school, where they enter S1 (Secondary School, Year 1). 

In 1993, the Scottish Education Office announced they were proposing that all Scottish Primary Schools should offer teaching in a modern European Language: either French, German, Italian or Spanish. The continuous implementation of this Policy through the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Programme (MLPS) aims to enable all schools in Scotland to offer modern language teaching in P6 and P7.

England and Wales
The National Curriculum in England is organised on the basis of four key stages, as amended by the Education Act 1993, namely:

Stages Pupils’ Ages Year Groups

Key Stage 1

 5 – 7 1 – 2

Key Stage 2

 7 – 11 3 – 6

Key Stage 3

 11 – 14 7 – 9

Key Stage 4

 14 – 16 10 - 11

A modern Foreign Language is not introduced until children are at Key Stage 3, i.e. 11-14 years of age.4

Ireland

Under the NCTE’s successful initiatives,5 every primary school in Ireland is  in a position to ensure that pupils can now be taught a range of IT skills, knowledge and understanding.
Feedback from the Department of Education and Sciences Modern Foreign Languages Project has been very positive.
It is our understanding that Modern Foreign Languages will now be phased into the Irish Curriculum over the next 4 to 5 years, thus ensuring every pupil has access to a foreign language speaker/teacher.
Taking the above two background contexts into consideration, we are confident and positive that our project can only but enhance and support more comprehensively the development of Modern Foreign Languages in Irish Primary Schools.

Our Project's uniqueness is in catering for 3 age/class groups, namely:-

Group 1           =          Age 7 or Rang 1

Group 11             =             Ages 8 – 10 or Ranganna I1 – IV

Group 111             =             Ages 11 – 13 or Ranganna V – VI

Sample lesson notes relevant to these three groupings are included in the various Modules of our Project.

Using ICT to teach Languages

When pupils are learning languages, ICT can be used to6:

(i)                   develop further all four language skills in our pupils, i.e., listening, speaking, reading and writing;

(ii)                 enable pupils to become more effective and confident learners;

(iii)                raise the standards of pupils’ achievements;

(iv)               assist pupils to communicate in the target language;

(v)                 enable communication with people of the target languages and communities;

(vi)               enhance language learning skills and develop independent learning skills;

(vii)              access a range of resources in the target language and identify with the people of target language communities and countries;

(viii)            address  pupils’ special needs for access to language learning;

(ix)               make effective use of and extend existing IT skills and knowledge.

 

Acceptable Use Policy for the Internet in Irish Schools

In June 1999, the NCTE sent an information copy of Internet Acceptable Use Guidelines/Policies and Procedure Documents to all Irish Primary Schools. (7)

These guidelines are intended to assist each school in the development and implementation of a school Policy on the use of the Internet.

It is recommended that each school forms a representable group including parents to formulate this policy.

These guidelines include:

1.                   Introduction

2.                   Sample School Policy

3.                   Suggested School Procedures

4.                   Sample Parent Permission Letter/Form

5.                   Parent guide to the Internet

6.                   NCTE Advice Sheet – Internet Safety.

For your convenience and ease, the above details are reproduced in Appendix A of our Project.  It can also be downloaded from Scoilnet at: http://www.scoilnet.ie/safety

Other interesting guidelines on Internet Use (in UK schools) can be obtained from the National Association for Co-ordinators and Teachers of IT by accessing: http://www.acitt.org.uk

The above is reproduced in Appendix D for your attention and information.

We recommend that you read these guidelines carefully and use them as the basis, after modification, for your own school’s Internet Policy.

Planning Process

The planning process needed to integrate Modern Foreign Languages with ICT involves four stages, which can be outlined as follows.  Either the school’s ICT Co-ordinator or Principal is responsible for initiating and continuing the process.

1. Evaluate

What opportunities does your school provide for teaching Modern Foreign Languages using ICT?

How is ICT enhancing your Modern Foreign Language teaching and pupils learning?

 

Is ICT included in your policy statement for Languages

Consider:

·        Current practice;

·        Staff confidence and expertise;

·        Access to hardware and software;

·        MFL, ICT and Assessment Policy

2.      Plan

Establish a development plan for MFL, which includes ICT.
Consider:

·        Professional development needs;

·        Resource implications;

·        Responsibilities ;

·        A realistic time span (1-2 years)

Develop a scheme of work for MFL to include ICT which:

·        Has clear objectives;

·        Has reference to the revised curriculum;

·        Gives reference to assessment and recording;

·        Is part of a whole school approach

This scheme should be developed during a process of consultation with teaching staff, parents and approved by the Board of Management.

3.      Action

Carry out the development plan.

 

Implement the scheme of work.

4.       Monitoring and Review
In terms of language development, what do pupils know and understand?
Has I.C.T. contributed to this?
How have they developed their IT skills?
Complete a teacher’s record/checklist of the classgroup language knowledge and ICT skills.

Time Tabling

The timetabling of our project had to be practical and workable.  Actual implementation of the Project in our classrooms depended on teacher choice, with the following being the preferred approaches;

(i) Deleting 5 Minutes per subject from each of the curriculum subjects;

(ii) Deleting time-blocks from subjects.
A cross-curricular approach is also integral to the success of including this Project in the classroom timetable. With the introduction of the Revised Curriculum, timetabling of subjects will be flexible and consequently of benefit to our Project.

Aims and Objectives of our Project

Our project “The Use of ICT in Teaching Languages” is a broad-based project that aims to raise the awareness among pupils of major European languages and cultures.

Our required objectives are detailed as follows:

(i)                   to use ICT to introduce foreign languages to pupils in primary schools;

(ii)                 to establish links between the participating schools with a view to exchanging and formulating lesson plans, ideas for class activities, games, etc;

(iii)                to establish links with primary schools in other countries in order to broaden the language experience of the participating pupils.

 Stated Outcomes/Targets8

The stated outcomes of our Project can be outlined as follows:

(i)                   participating pupils will gain an enhanced knowledge of ICT and in particular the use of e-mail and the internet;

(ii)                 the pupils’ knowledge of foreign language and culture will be enhanced;

(iii)                resource materials and teaching strategies will be developed;

(iv)               the European dimension of the pupils’ education will be developed;

(v)                 twinning projects with foreign primary schools will be initiated and developed;

(vi)               suitable software for language teaching will be identified and evaluated.

Project Modules

To achieve these stated aims and to successfully realise the above outcomes and targets, various Modules have been compiled.

These Modules, outlined hereunder, should assist teachers in identifying ways in which European Languages can be taught using ICT in Irish Primary Schools.

They should provide guidance and supporting information to help teachers through the process as they evaluate their current practice and plan ways of developing and integrating ICT into Modern Languages focused teaching.

Module Framework

Module 1                      Word Processing

Module 2                      E-mail

Module 3                      Databases

Module 4                      Christmas  Customs

Module 5                      Desktop Publishing

Module 6                      Software Evaluation

Module 7                      Patch Studies

Module 8                     Excel

Module 9                      Multimedia Authoring

References 1 - 8 at the end of Chapter 2.

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